“He
that said, ‘Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,” will
listen to our prayers for them, and the
seal, or mark, of believing parents will cover their children, if they are
trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.’” E. G. White, {RH September 19, 1854, par. 13}

“When
the destroying angel was to pass through Egypt, to destroy the first-born of
man and beast, Israel was commanded to gather their children and families into
their houses with them, and then mark their door-posts with blood, that the
destroying angel might pass by their dwellings, and if they failed to go
through with this process, there was no difference made between them and the
Egyptians.

The
destroying angel is soon to go forth again, not to destroy the first-born
alone, but “to slay utterly old and young, both men,
women and little children” who have not the mark. Parents, if you wish to save
your children, separate them from the world, keep them from the company of
wicked children; for if you suffer them to go with wicked children, you cannot
prevent them from partaking of their wickedness and being corrupted. It is your
solemn duty to watch over your children, to choose the society at all times for
them. Learn your children to obey you, then can they
more easily obey the commandments of God, and yield to his requirements. Don’t
let us neglect to pray with, and for our children. He that said, ‘Suffer little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not,” will listen to our prayers for them, and the seal, or mark, of believing parents will cover their children,
if they are trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.’”

E.
G. White, {RH September 19, 1854, par. 13}

God
says: “I know Abraham, that he will command his household after him,” and God gave him the honor of being the father of the
faithful. Parents, it is your duty to have
your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions and evil tempers
subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they should be made to know, and
understand where they are. That they are not at home, but where God meets with
his people. And they should be kept quiet and free from all play, and God will
turn his face toward you, to meet with you and bless you.” Ellen White, {RH March
28, 1893, Art. B, par. 5}

“Parents,
above everything, take care of your children
upon the Sabbath. Do not suffer them to
violate God’s holy day by playing in the house or out of doors. You may just as
well break the Sabbath yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you
suffer your children to wander about, and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath,
God looks upon you as Sabbath-breakers. Your children, that
are under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should be
their law. Will not parents wake up to their duty before it shall be too late,
and take hold of the work in earnest, redeem the time, and make unsparing efforts to save their children?” Ellen White, {CG 533.2}

The Precious Grace of Reverence—Another
precious grace that should be carefully cherished is reverence.1 {CG 538.1}

The education and training of the youth should be of a
character that would exalt sacred things, and encourage pure devotion for God
in His house. Many
who profess to be children of the heavenly King have no true appreciation of
the sacredness of eternal things.2 {CG 538.2}

God Is to Be Had in Reverence—True reverence for God is
inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His
presence. With
this sense of the Unseen the heart of every child should be deeply impressed.3 {CG 538.3}

“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the
saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are
about him.” Psalm 89:7. {CG 538.4}

His Name Is to Be Revered—Reverence should be shown also
for the name of God. Never should that name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly.
Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition should be avoided. “Holy and reverend is his name.” Psalm 111:9. Angels, as they speak it, veil
their faces. With what reverence should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it
upon our lips!4 {CG 538.5}

His Word Is Sacred—We should
reverence God’s Word. For the printed volume we should show respect, never
putting it to common uses or handling it carelessly. And never should Scripture
be quoted in a jest or paraphrased to point a witty saying. “Every word of God is pure”;
“as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” (Proverbs 30:5;
Psalm 12:6).5 {CG
538.6}

Children should be taught to respect every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God. Parents are ever to magnify the precepts of
the law of the Lord before their children, by showing obedience to that law, by
themselves living under the control of God. If a sense of the sacredness of
the law takes possession of the parents, it will surely transform the character
by converting the soul.6 {CG 539.1}

The Place of Prayer—God Is There—In
every Christian home God should be honored by the morning and evening
sacrifices of prayer and praise. Children should be taught to respect and reverence the hour of
prayer.7 {CG
539.2}

The hour and place of prayer and the services of public
worship the child should be taught to regard as sacred because God is there.
And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that
inspires it will be deepened.8 {CG 539.3}

The House of God—His Holy Temple—Well would it be for
young and old to study and ponder and often repeat those words of Holy Writ
that show how the place marked by God’s special presence should be regarded. {CG 539.4}

“Put off thy shoes from off thy feet,” He commanded Moses
at the burning bush, “for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5.
{CG 539.5}

Jacob, after beholding the vision of the angels,
exclaimed, “The Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.... This is none other
but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis
28:16, 17. {CG 539.6}

“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep
silence before him.” Habakkuk 2:20.9 {CG
540.1}

Many ... have no true appreciation of the sacredness of
eternal things. Nearly all need to be taught how to conduct themselves in the
house of God. Parents should not only teach, but command, their children to
enter the sanctuary with sobriety and reverence.10 {CG 540.2}

Guard Against a Growing
Carelessness—From
the sacredness which was attached to the earthly sanctuary, Christians may
learn how they should regard the place where the Lord meets with His people. There has been a great change,
not for the better, but for the worse, in the habits and customs of the people
in reference to religious worship. The precious, the sacred things which
connect us with God are fast losing their hold upon our minds and hearts and
are being brought down to the level of the common things. The reverence which
the people had anciently for the sanctuary, where they met with God in sacred
service, has largely passed away. Nevertheless God Himself gave the order of
His service, exalting it high above everything of a temporal nature.11 {CG
540.3}

"God has a church. It is not the
great cathedral, [or the super mega church], neither is it the national
establishment, neither is it the
various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep
His commandments.'Where two or three are
gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst
of them.' Where Christ is even among the humble few, THIS IS CHRIST'S
CHURCH, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can
alone constitute a church."Upward Look, p. 315

The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath
violated by Sabbath-believers’ children. In some cases they are even allowed to
run about the house, play, talk, and manifest their evil tempers in the very
meetings where the saints should worship God in the beauty of holiness. And the
place that should be holy, and where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect
order, neatness,and humility, is made to be a perfect
Babylon, “confusion.” This is enough to bring God’s displeasure and shut His
presence from our assemblies.12
{CG 540.4}

We Have More Reasons for Reverence Than
the Hebrews—It is too true that reverence for the house of God has become
almost extinct. Sacred things and places are not discerned; the holy and
exalted are not appreciated. Is there not a cause for the want of fervent piety
in our families? Is
it not because the high standard of religion is left to trail in the dust? God gave rules of order,
perfect and exact, to His ancient people. Has His character changed? Is He not
the great and mighty God who rules in the heaven of heavens? Would it not be
well for us often to read the directions given by God Himself to the Hebrews,
that we who have the light of the glorious truth shining upon us may imitate
their reverence for the house of God? We have abundant reason ... even to be
more thoughtful and reverential in our worship than had the Jews. But an enemy
has been at work to destroy our faith in the sacredness of Christian worship.13 {CG 541.1}

The Church—the Sanctuary of the Congregation—The house is the sanctuary for the family, and the closet or
the grove the most retired place for individual worship; but the church is the
sanctuary for the congregation. There should be rules in regard to the time,
the place, and the manner of worshiping.14
{CG 541.2}

Teach Children to Enter Reverently—Parents, elevate the
standard of Christianity in the minds of your children; help them to weave
Jesus into their experience; teach them to have the highest reverence for the
house of God and to understand that when they enter the Lord’s house, it should
be with hearts that are softened and subdued by such thoughts as these: “God is here; this is His
house. I must have pure thoughts and the holiest motives.I must have no pride, envy, jealousy, evil surmising,
hatred, or deception in my heart; for I am coming into the presence of the holy
God. This is the
place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high and holy One who
inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my heart, and reads the most secret
thoughts and acts of my life.”15 {CG 541.3}

Remain With Their Parents—The
moral taste of the worshipers in God’s holy sanctuary must be elevated,
refined, sanctified. This matter has been sadly neglected. Its importance has
been overlooked, and as the result disorder and irreverence have become
prevalent, and God has been dishonored. When the leaders in the church,
ministers and people, fathers and mothers, have not had elevated views of this
matter, what could be expected of the inexperienced children? They are too
often found in groups, away from the parents, who should have charge of them.
Notwithstanding they are in the presence of God, and His eye is looking upon
them; they are light and trifling; they whisper and laugh, are careless,
irreverent, and inattentive.16 {CG
542.1}

To Be Sober and Quiet—Do not
have so little reverence for the house and worship of God as to communicate
with one another during the sermon. If those who commit this fault could see
the angels of God looking upon them and marking their doings, they would be
filled with shame and abhorrence of themselves. God wants attentive hearers. It
was while men slept that the enemy sowed tares.17 {CG 542.2}

Not to Act as in a Common Place—There
should be a sacred spot, like the sanctuary of old, where God is to meet with His
people. That place should not be used as a lunchroom or as a business room, but
simply for the worship of God. When children attend day school in the same
place where they assemble to worship on the Sabbath, they cannot be made to
feel the sacredness of the place, and that they must enter with feelings of
reverence. The sacred and common are so blended that it is difficult to
distinguish them. {CG 542.3}

It is for this reason that the house or sanctuary
dedicated to God should not be made a common place. Its sacredness should not
be confused or mingled with the common everyday feelings or business life.
There should be a solemn awe upon the worshipers as they enter the sanctuary,
and they should leave behind all common worldly thoughts, for it is the place
where God reveals His presence. It is as the audience chamber of the great and
eternal God; therefore pride and passion, dissension and self-esteem,
selfishness, and covetousness, which God pronounces idolatry, are inappropriate
for such a place.18 {CG 543.1}

To Manifest No Spirit of Levity—Parents, it is your duty
to have your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions and evil
tempers subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they should be made to
know and understand where they are—that they are not at home, but where God
meets with His people. And they should be kept quiet and free from all play,
and God will turn His face toward you, to meet with you and bless you. {CG
543.2}

If order is observed in the assemblies of the saints, the
truth will have better effect upon all that hear it. A solemnity which is so
much needed will be encouraged, and there will be power in the truth to stir up
the depths of the soul, and a deathlike stupor will not hang upon those who
hear. Believers and unbelievers will be affected. It has seemed evident that in
some places the ark of God was removed from the church, for the holy
commandments have been violated and the strength of Israel has been weakened.19
{CG 543.3}

Take the Disturbing Child Out—Your
child should be taught to obey as the children of God obey Him. If this
standard is maintained, a word from you will have some weight when your child
is restless in the house of God. But if the children cannot be restrained, if
the parents feel that the restraint is too much of an exaction, the child
should be removed from the church at once; it should not be left to divert the
minds of the hearers by talking or running about. God is dishonored by the
loose way in which parents manage their children while at church.20 {CG 544.1}

Irreverence Encouraged by Display of Apparel—All should be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their
dress, but not to indulge in that external adorning which is wholly
inappropriate for the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel, for
this encourages irreverence.... All matters of dress should be strictly
guarded, following closely the Bible rule. Fashion has been the goddess who has
ruled the outside world, and she often insinuates herself into the church. The
church should make the Word of God her standard, and parents should think
intelligently upon this subject.21 {CG
544.2}

Show Reverence for Ministers—God’s
Representatives.—Reverence should be shown for God’s representatives—for
ministers, teachers, and parents who are called to speak and act in His stead.
In the respect shown to them He is honored.22
{CG 544.3}

They [children] are seldom instructed that the minister
is God’s ambassador, that the message he brings is one of God’s appointed
agencies in the salvation of souls, and that to all who have the privilege
brought within their reach, it will be a savor of life unto life or of death
unto death.23 {CG 545.1}

Nothing that is sacred, nothing that pertains to the
worship of God, should be treated with carelessness and indifference. When the
word of life is spoken, you should remember that you are listening to the voice
of God through His delegated servant. Do not lose these words through
inattention; if heeded, they may keep your feet from straying into wrong
paths.24 {CG 545.2}

Accountability of Critical Parents—Parents, be careful
what example and what ideas you give your children. Their minds are plastic,
and impressions are easily made. In regard to the service of the sanctuary, if
the speaker has a blemish, be afraid to mention it. Talk only of the good work
he is doing, of the good ideas he presented, which you should heed as coming
through God’s agent. It may be readily seen why children are so little
impressed with the ministry of the Word, and why they have so little reverence
for the house of God. Their education has been defective in this respect.25 {CG 545.3}

The delicate and susceptible minds of the youth obtain
their estimate of the labors of God’s servants by the way their parents treat
the matter. Many heads of families make the service a subject of criticism at
home, approving a few things and condemning others. Thus the message of God to
men is criticized and questioned and made a subject of levity. What impressions
are thus made upon the young by these careless, irreverent remarks, the books
of heaven alone will reveal. The children see and understand these things very
much quicker than parents are apt to think. Their moral senses receive a wrong
bias that time will never fully change. The parents mourn over the hardness of
heart in their children and the difficulty in arousing their moral sensibility
to answer to the claims of God. But the books of heavenly record trace with
unerring pen the true cause. The parents were unconverted. They were not in
harmony with Heaven or with Heaven’s work. Their low, common ideas of the
sacredness of the ministry and of the sanctuary of God were woven into the
education of their children. {CG 545.4}

It is a question whether anyone who has for years been
under this blighting influence of home instruction will ever have a sensitive
reverence and high regard for God’s ministry and the agencies He has appointed
for the salvation of souls. These things should be spoken of with reverence,
with propriety of language, and with fine susceptibility, that you may reveal
to all you associate with that you regard the message from God’s servants as a
message to you from God Himself.26
{CG 546.1}

Practice Reverence Till It Becomes Habitual—Reverence is
greatly needed in the youth of this age. I am alarmed as I see children and
youth of religious parents so heedless of the order and propriety that should
be observed in the house of God. While God’s servants are presenting the words
of life to the people, some will be reading, others whispering and laughing.
Their eyes are sinning by diverting the attention of those around them. This
habit, if allowed to remain unchecked, will grow and influence others. {CG 546.2}

Children and youth should never feel that it is something
to be proud of to be indifferent and careless in meetings where God is
worshiped. God sees every irreverent thought or action, and it is registered in
the books of heaven. He says, “I know thy works.” Nothing is hid from His
all-searching eye. If you have formed in any degree the habit of inattention
and indifference in the house of God, exercise the powers you have to correct
it, and show that you have self-respect. Practice reverence until it becomes a
part of yourself.27 {CG 546.3}

Chapter 81—Co-Ordination of Home and Church

Begin the Work of Grace in the Home—Parents, begin the
work of grace in the church in your own home, so conducting yourselves that
your children will see that you are co-operating with the heavenly angels. Be
sure that you are converted every day. Train yourselves and your children for
life eternal in the kingdom of God. Angels will be your strong helpers. Satan
will tempt you, but do not yield. Do not speak one word of which the enemy can
take an advantage. {CG 548.1}

Truth is pure and uncorrupted. Let it dwell in the heart.
Let the determination of each member of the family be, “I will be a Christian,
for in the school here below I must form a character which will give me
entrance into the higher grade in heaven. I must do to others as I desire them
to do to me, for only those who reveal Christ in this world can enter the
courts of heaven.” {CG 548.2}

Make the home life as nearly as possible like heaven. Let
the members of the family forget not, as they gather round the family altar, to
pray for the men in positions of responsibility in God’s work.1 {CG 548.3}

Those who govern their families in the right way will
bring into the church an influence of order and reverence. They will represent
the attributes of mercy and justice as standing hand in hand. They will reveal
to their children the character of Christ. The law of kindness and love upon
their lips will not make their commands weak and without authority, and their
injunctions will not be met with disobedience.2 {CG 548.4}

Model Homes Make a Model Church—Every family is a church, over which
the parents preside.
The first consideration of the parents should be to work for the salvation of
their children. When the father and mother as priest and teacher of the family
take their position fully on the side of Christ, a good influence will be
exerted in the home. And this sanctified influence will be felt in the church
and will be recognized by every believer. Because of the great lack of piety
and sanctification in the home, the work of God is greatly hindered. No man can
bring into the church an influence that he does not exert in his home life and
in his business relations.3 {CG
549.1}

Proper Church Conduct Is Learned
at Home—The home is a school where all may learn how they are to act in the
church. When all are members of the royal family, there will be true politeness
in the home life. Each member of the family will seek to make it pleasant for
every other member. The angels of God, who minister to those who shall be heirs
of salvation, will help you to make your family a model of the heavenly family.
Let there be peace in the home, and there will be peace in the church. This
precious experience brought into the church will be the means of creating a
kindly affection one for another. Quarrels will cease. True Christian courtesy
will be seen among church members. The world will take knowledge of them that
they have been with Jesus and have learned of Him. What an impression the
church would make upon the world if all the members would live Christian lives!4 {CG 549.2}

Why There Is Weakness in the Church—Many
seem to think that the declension in the church, the growing love of pleasure,
is due to want of pastoral work. True, the church is to be provided with
faithful guides and pastors. Ministers should labor earnestly for the youth who
have not given themselves to Christ, and also for others who, though their
names are on the church roll, are irreligious and Christless.
But ministers may do their work faithfully and well, yet it will amount to very
little if parents neglect their work. It is to a lack of Christianity in the
home life that the lack of power in the church is due. Until parents take up
their work as they should, it will be difficult to arouse the youth to a sense
of their duty. If religion reigns in the home, it will be brought into the
church. The parents who do their work for God are a power for good. As they
restrain and encourage their children, bringing them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, they bless the neighborhood in which they live. And the
church is strengthened by their faithful work.5
{CG 550.1}

Neglectful Parents Cannot Uplift the Church—If disobedience is allowed in the home life, the hearts of
the children will be filled with opposition to the government of God. The power
of the Holy Spirit will prove ineffectual to soften and subdue their hearts. If
in later years, under special circumstances, they yield to the gospel of
Christ, they will have to fight terrible battles to bring the disloyal will into
submission to the will of God. Often the church has to suffer through its
members because of the wrong education received by them in childhood. When
children, they were allowed to practice deception in order to gain their own
way; and the spirit that was permitted to be rebellious in the home will be the
last to render obedience to the requirements of God’s Word.6 {CG 550.2}

Spirituality May Be Killed by Criticism—When you are tempted to speak cross words, pray for grace to
resist the temptation. Remember that your children will speak as they hear you
speaking. By your example you are educating them. Remember that if you speak
cross words to fellow church members, you would speak the same kind of words in
heaven, were you permitted to enter there....
{CG 551.1}

After the family then comes the church. The influence of
the family is to be such that it will be a help and a blessing in the church.
Never speak a word of complaint or faultfinding. There are churches in which
the spirituality has been almost killed, because the spirit of backbiting has
been allowed to enter. Why do we speak words of blame and censure? To be silent
is the strongest rebuke that you can give to one who is speaking harsh,
discourteous words to you. Keep perfectly silent. Often silence is eloquence.7 {CG 551.2}

In Care for Unfortunate Youth—Young men and women who are
not under home influences need someone to look after them and to manifest some
interest for them; and those who do this are supplying a great lack and are as
verily doing a work for God and the salvation of souls as the minister in the
pulpit. This work of disinterested benevolence in laboring for the good of the
youth is no more than God requires of every one of us. How earnestly should the
experienced Christian work to prevent the formation of those habits that
indelibly mar the character! Let the followers of Christ make the Word of God
attractive to the youth.8 {CG 551.3}

The Minister Has a Special Opportunity—At
every suitable opportunity let the story of Jesus’ love be repeated to the
children. In every sermon let a little corner be left
for their benefit. The servant of Christ may make lasting friends of these
little ones. Then let him lose no opportunity of helping them to become more
intelligent in a knowledge of the Scriptures. This
will do more than we realize to bar the way against Satan’s devices. If
children early become familiar with the truths of God’s Word, a barrier against
ungodliness will be erected, and they will be able to meet the foe with the
words, “It is written.”9 {CG 552.1}

Be As Faithful at Home As at Worship—Parents, as teachers
of your loved ones the truth should have a controlling power over your
conscience and your understanding, presiding over word and deed. Be as faithful
in your home life as you are in the worship of God. Give a right character to
all within the home. Angels of God are present, noting how the younger members
of the Lord’s family are treated. The religion of the home will surely be
brought into the church.10 {CG
552.2}

Scripture on Home Churches

Act 16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all
that were in his house.

Act 16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat
before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Act 16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into [the house
of] Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and
departed.

Act 18:7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain [man's]
house, named Justus, [one] that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the
synagogue.

Rom 16:5 Likewise
[greet] the church that is in their house. Salute my well beloved Epaenetus,
who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

1Cr 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by
them [which are of the house] of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

1Cr 16:15 I
beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the
firstfruits of Achaia, and [that] they have addicted themselves to the ministry
of the saints,)

1Cr 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute
you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Ellen White on Home Churches in the Alpha of Apostasy

When the young men
and women were kept away from the Alpha of apostasy in the church, what did
they do where did they meet for worship?

"There is a
little hope in one direction: Take the young men and women, and place them
where they will come as little in contact with our churches as possible, that
the low grade of piety which is current in this day shall not leaven their ideas of what it means to be a
Christian." E.G. White, Manuscript Release #995, p. 5.

"Brother and
sister Haskell have rented a house in one of the best parts of the city, and have
gathered round them a family of helpers, who day by day go out giving Bible
readings, selling our papers, and doing medical missionary work. During the
hour of worship, the workers relate their experiences. Bible studies are
regularly conducted in the home, and THE YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN connected
with the mission receive a practical, thorough training in holding Bible
readings and in selling our publications. The Lord has blessed their labors, a
number have embraced the truth, and many others are deeply interested." Review and Herald, September 7, 1905, Evangelism, p.
108.

"Christ was a
protestant...The Reformers date back to Christ and the apostles. They came out
and separated themselves from a religion of forms and ceremonies. Luther and
his followers did not invent the reformed religion. They simply accepted it as
presented by Christ and the apostles." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 2, 48, col. 2.

Paul left

"And as they
persisted in their rejection of the gospel the apostle (Paul) went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months,
disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when
divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the
multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily
in the school of one Tyrannus." Acts, 19:8, 9.

"Fearing that
the faith of the believers would be endangered by continued association with
these opposers of the truth, Paul separated from them, and gathered the disciples
into a distinct body." E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 286.

"The recreant priests added
licentiousness to the dark catalogue of their crimes yet they still polluted by
their presence the tabernacle of the Lord, and, laden with sin, dared to come
into the presence of a holy God. As the men of Israel witnessed the corrupt
course of the priests, they thought it safer for their families not to come up
to the appointed place of worship. Many went from
Shiloh with their peace disturbed, their indignation aroused, until they at
last determined to offer their sacrifices themselves, concluding that this
would be fully as acceptable to God, as to sanction in any manner the abominations
practiced in the Sanctuary." E.G. White, The Signs of the Times, vol. 1, p. 264, col. 3, December 1, 1881.

Shiloh was the first civilized settlement of the Hebrews after emerging
from their 40 years in the Sinai desert. That far back the faithful were
meeting in their homes because of apostate leaders.

"The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ's
message and was bent upon His death therefore Jesus departed from Jerusalem,
from the priests, the temple, the religious leaders, the people who had been
instructed in the law, and turned to another class to proclaim His message, and to gather out those
who should carry the gospel to all nations. As the light and life of men was rejected by the
ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in
every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ's withdrawal from Judea has been
repeated. When
the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating
themselves from the established church but the religious leaders would not tolerate the
light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were
longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are
actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to
accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the
steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in
order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those
who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church
of their fathers, that they may render obedience." E.G. White, Desire of Ages,p. 232.

"We ARE
NOT saved as a sect; no denominational name has any virtue to bring us into
favor with God. We are saved individually as believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ." E.G. White, Review and Herald Articles,
vol. 2, p. 464.

"The Lord
would teach man the lesson though united in church capacity,
he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him." E.G. White
Comments, SDA Bible
Commentary, vol. 7, p. 969.

"Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of
truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by
the man in linen, are those 'that sigh and that cry for all the abominations
that be done in the church.' Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 266-267.

"In every
nation whosoever believes with all his heart in the Lord Jesus is accepted of God.
Here, truly, is the church, out[side] of which no one
can be saved." The Great Controversy, p. 181.

"Even though
you may not be able to speak a word to those who are working on wrong
principles, leave them. Your withdrawal and silence may do more than words.
Nehemiah refused to associate with those who were untrue to principle, and he
would not permit his workmen to associate with them. The love and fear of God
were his safeguard-Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone. Thus as did Moses,
you will endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. But a cowardly and silent
reserve before evil associates, while you listen to their devices makes you one
with them Come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Review
& Herald Vol. 4, p. 42.

Fear and Shun
"'They that forsake the law praise the wicked.' Proverbs 28:4. When those
who are uniting with the world, yet claiming great purity, plead for union with
those who have ever been the opposers of the cause of truth, we should fear and
shun them as decidedly as did Nehemiah. Such counsel is prompted by the enemy
of all good. It is the speech of timeservers, and should be resisted as
resolutely today as then. Whatever influence would tend to unsettle the faith
of God' people in His guiding power, should be steadfastly withstood."
E.G. White, Prophets and Kings,p. 660.

15 What hath my beloved
[bride] to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and
the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest
evil, then thou rejoicest. Jeremiah 11:15. KJV